


Paralogue Gone Wrong Gone Bromantic

by pikachuch1mchar



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Hurt/Comfort, I told myself I wouldnt post first chapter until I had written the whole thing but fuck, Im high and soft and wanna share, Injuryfic I guess?, M/M, Major Character Injury
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-09-21
Updated: 2019-09-29
Packaged: 2020-10-25 02:54:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,851
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20716907
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pikachuch1mchar/pseuds/pikachuch1mchar
Summary: Ignatz, Raphael, and the rest of the Golden Deer house head out to dispatch some beasts on a familiar route, but while protecting Ignatz, Raphael sustains a grave injury. Ignatz tries to visit him every day in the infirmary, but a strange, light nervous feeling seems to fill Ignatz more and more with every visit.





	1. Protection

The arrow flew past Raphael and straight into the monsters thick pelt. It roared in rage, charging, only to be caught by Raphaels fist. It snarled at the large man. Ignatz knocked another arrow and shouted to the merchants who shook on the sidelines."Go! We'll hold it back just run!"

Ignatz took a step to the side, shooting once again at the beast. Once the arrow flew by, Raphael once again stepped in front of him. Ignatz frowned while he knocked another arrow. He wasnt a fan of this fighting strategy his friend had adopted. Dont get him wrong, Raphael was more than capable of taking a hit and he knew, but Ignatz had a bad feeling about this battle. Real bad.

He had even told Raphael about this worry on the way to the route, but Raphael had only smiled and patted Ignatz on the shoulder. He had told him not to worry, that hed protect him. At the time it made Ignatz feel better. He felt safe and light. But on the battlefield the same dread came back. _Somethings going to happen_ he thought, drawing back the arrow. 

Hildas great axe was stuck in the beasts leg and she wasnt letting go. It trapped the beast in place as Ignatzs arrow soared right into its horrid nose. It charged right at him for that, tearing Hildas axe from her hands. Its gaping maw came straight at Ignatz and he flinched, ready to be killed, right then and there. But the impact of sharp teeth didnt come, and Ignatz opened his eyes to the sight of the veritable brick wall he called his best friend with his arms full of monster snout. He was wrestling it away, the madman. Ignatz watched Raphaels back muscles flex and contract in time with the monsters flailing. Taut even through his dress shirt. Ignatz stared in shock of course, no other reason. That is until Raphael let out a mighty grunt and brought a hammer fist down on the monsters skull. It began melting from the wound. Raphael turned around and smiled at Ignatz.

"Told ya I'd protect you!" He said. Ignatz was once again definitely shocked into staring. No other reason. Ignatz decided to just nod back in thanks and ignore the bright warm glint in yellow eyes.

Ignatz redrew the arrow he had knocked and aimed it at one of the soldiers. He was just releasing the arrow from his fingertips when he felt something pushing him.

Ignatz fell forward into the dirt, and he was ready to shout at whoever decided it was a good time to do that! His arrow had been knocked off course, and he was prone on a dangerous battlefield! He pushed himself up just as he saw something fall beside him with a thump. The thing was Raphael, and behind Ignatz was one of the other beasts. Damn it! How did he not hear the beast sneaking up? Ignatz scrambled up just to avoid the things gnashing teeth snapping at him. Luckily Leonie rode by and lanced the thing to distract it from Ignatz, giving him time to knock an arrow. Leonie led her horse gracefully with agile dodges and strong jabs. Ignatz focused on releasing arrows as fast as he could with his eagle eyed precision. 

By the time they finished off the thing, the professor and Claude had made it to battle with the leaders of this messed up assault. Leonie rode off to help, and Ignatz was about the head the same way before realizing that Raphael hadn't moved in a while. Ignatz had known Raphael for most of his life and knew that the guy couldnt sit still for that long. He glanced in his friends direction and… Raphaels shirt was no more than a red bundle of scraps. Underneath what remained of it were deep gashes from shoulder to hip, blood oozing out of them. Ignatz was horrified. He shook as his voice yelled all on it's own. 

"M-Ma-MARIEANNE? CLAUDE? PR-PROFESSOR!?" Most of the class was listening to the dying noble prattle on- something about Lorenzs father- Ignatz couldnt care less. The panicked calls drew them away though, all running to the boy who asked everyone to come on this quest with him and his fallen friend. Marianne screamed when she saw the situation.

"Marianne- how much healing do you have left- you gotta-" Ignatz pleaded, panicked.

"I-I-I cant, the he-healing doesnt wo-work if they're u-uncon-" Marianne was interrupted by a loud smacking sound. The Professor had squatted down near Raphaels head and slapped him apparently. Everyone immediately voiced their disapproval, and Ignatz especially was horrified. The professor signed something back- words they hadn't been taught yet. 

"There are better ways to check if hes unconscious then _slapping_ him!" Lysithea scolded.

"I guess we're gonna have to do some old fashioned first aid," Claude said. His voice was calm but the house leader was tugging incessantly on his braid. "Marianne? You're still the most experienced of us…"

"I-I- I sh-shouldnt- I ca-cant- I" Mariannes panicking was doing nothing to help Ignatz with his own panic. In fact he was more agitated, nervously wringing his hands as he looked from Marianne to Raphael to Marianne to the rest of the house-

"Its ok, I've got it, someone prop him up?" Leonie said, pulling bandages from her jacket. Marianne still looked uneasy, but was relieved that Leonie came to her rescue.

"Hold on a moment, I believe I still have some disinfectants," Lorenz added, digging into his own pockets. Ignatz was only calmed a bit since things were being done about the situation. He was still agitated enough to practically sprint to prop up Raphael for Leonie, but the professor beat him to it, and Ignatz had to get his nervous energy out by hovering around the small team asking if he could do anything to help.

For an anxiety inducing couple of minutes, Lorenz, Leonie, and the professor all worked together to patch up Raphael the best they could and lift him up onto Leonies horse. All anyone else could do was shuffle around and wait to march back to the monastery. 

Ignatz spent the quick-paced march on one side of Leonies horse, holding Raphaels thigh steady so the boy wouldnt fall off. Absentmindedly he squeezed the small part of his friends thigh where it had gone soft from being limp and repeated prayers to the goddess to make sure they got Raphael home safe. 

It must have worked. They marched through the night and got back to the monastery right as day broke. Raphael hadn't woken up on the way there, but he was breathing, and the knights on duty wasted no time in carrying him up to the infirmary. Everyone was exhausted, but followed the knights up to watch after their friend while the professor ran further up the stairs to wake up Manuela. She wasnt too happy about it, but once she pushed her way through the crowd of Golden Deer, she dropped all of her complaints and rubbed the sleep out of her eyes. Upon seeing Manuela take to her work, Ignatzs classmates slowly trickled out of the room, worried but eager to catch up on rest. Ignatz lingered longest, staring at his friend while Mauela retrieved a needle and thread from a cupboard. Ignatz hadn't seen Raphael look so vulnerable since the incident with his parents. His eyebrows were scrunched up in pain as he slept. That wasnt an expression Raphael ever wore unless he couldnt find enough odd jobs in the month to send the usual sum back to his sister. Everything about this was wrong. Manuela turned to get back to her work and noticed Ignatz was still there. Manuela had worked in this infirmary for years. She knew how to deal with concern. Her face softened and she took a few paces closer to Ignatz. 

"Its going to be alright," she said in her best comforting tone, "I'm not about to let a kid die on my watch. But you arent gonna want to see this next part."

Manuela walked back over to Raphael and pulled a strip of wet bandage off. It made a slight tearing sound, and Ignatz agreed that he did not want to see this. He walked down to his room for a fitful few hours of sleep.

Class had obviously been canceled the next day as the professor was a nut for proper sleeping habits. Ignatz woke up at noon to some vague night terror he couldnt remember. Though he hadn't gotten the nine hours of sleep the professor recommended for them, Ignatz was finding it hard to get back to sleep. It was too bright, and he had to do something. It wasn't right to lay around all day. Ignatz made himself presentable and ventured outside. Definitely on his to-do list was visiting Raphael, he was sure Manuela was done by now, and with a day or two of more magical healing, his friend would be just fine. Before he could get en route to the infirmary though, he noticed all the people milling about. Noontime was lunchtime… Ignatz decided to bring plates up for both him and Raphael. After all, he hadn't known a Raphael who didnt want to eat since they were very small.

When he came into the room, Raphael was still asleep (as evidenced by loud snoring), but he was looking a little better. Raphael had his head resting on its side, expression of pain gone and limbs strewn about. If Raphael's torso hadn't been left uncovered from the linty blankets, it might have looked like the boy was just sleeping. That gave Ignatz a bit of peace. He set down the two plates on the bedside table and stared at the peaceful look on Raphael's face. Just to take it in of course, it was just that Ignatz wanted to remember this face instead of the pained one from last night. No matter the fact that something possessed him to loop his finger around one of the blondes loose curls and guide it back to the rest of his hair. It was probably just to make sure his friend was comfortable while asleep! Probably! Either way, Ignatz needed to get a chair.

He had to really scour the room to find just a simple wooden chair that he could carry. Somewhere along that journey the rhythmic snoring stopped and Ignatz failed to notice. So when he came back and set a chair down with a soft _thock_ he was surprised to see Raphael with his eyes open (albeit droopy). 

"Ignatz," Raphael smiled as soon as he processed that his friend was by his bed. It wasnt one of his usual bright smiles, but more tender and not an ounce less warm.

"Good morning, Raphael," Ignatz smiled back, knowing full well that he hadn't exactly gotten up in time for morning either. "I brought you up some lunch,"

"Aw, sweet, you're a real good pal Ignatz," said Raphael.

"No, I just know you too well." Ignatz smiled back.

Raphael busied himself trying to sit himself up with small grunts of pain. Ignatz went to go help him, sliding a hand at the top of his back for support. But they both stopped as Manuela walked in.

"Oh! Why didnt you come get me if he woke up?" Manuela said, upon entering the scene. Ignatz, suddenly feeling walked in on, removed his hand from Raphaels back. Oh, why did he do that?? Well, it would just be awkward to put it back… sorry, Raph. Oh, right, Manuela was here.

"He- he actually j-just woke up, ma'am!" Ignatz said. Manuela hummed back in acknowledgement before walking around and occupying the opposite side of the clinic bed.

"And how are you feeling now?" She asked Raphael.

"Uuh, good?" He replied. Manuela nodded sagely and looked to Ignatz.

"Hes probably going to act weird, it looks like the painkillers havent worn off." She said. Both boys were quite confused.

"Wait, what," came from Raphael, and

"Painkillers?" From Ignatz. 

Manuela made a point to awkwardly pat Raphael on the forehead and shush him while answering Ignatzs question. "Yeah, a city in the kingdom developed and sent down some sort of herbal painkiller? It's pretty good at its job, but it lasts a bit long."

"Oh- uh…" Ignatz wasnt a medicine person, but wasnt it a bit risky to be using a new treatment on a near fatal wound? But the name of the thing, a painkiller… well, as long as Raphael wasnt in pain.

"Wait, so if that's the thing keeping me from feelin all this, does it mean I can get back to training earlier than you told me?" Raphael said, still more subdued than his usual self, but the excitement bubbled under the surface. Ignatz found himself grinning at Raphael. It was… cute? That didnt seem like an appropriate word to describe the absolute mountain called Raphael, but it was the closest word he could think of. Cute.

"No," was Manuelas almost deadpan response. Raphael plopped back down onto the bed pillow and mumbled something. There it was again. The urge to call Raphael cute. He looked down at his friends face again. Before once again being snapped back to attention by Manuela. "Oh, you were here for lunch? I'm sorry Ignatz but I'm going to need to check some things, it would probably be better if you came back tomorrow."

"O-oh… well, alright," Ignatz said. He would have been lying if he said he wasnt a bit disappointed. But nevertheless, he wished Raphael well and went on his way with his plate of lunch. 

When Ignatz got back to his room, he found himself thinking of Raphaels sleeping face as he picked at his plate. It was such a rare calm on his friend… he felt the urge to capture it. Setting aside lunch, he went for his papers and quill. 

A sketch of Raphaels face turned to two, then some doodles of the boys perfectly chiseled muscles unobstructed by the usual shirt… by the time Ignatz stopped drawing, he would have needed to light a candle to continue. He had gotten… maybe a bit carried away. He put away his quill and went to stuff his sketches where he hid the rest of them. On the top of the pile were his sketches of what the goddess might look like. Was it weird that he thought the sketches of Raphael looked more attractive than those of the goddess? He stared for a while at the two pages before shoving the drawer shut. It was probably just that his ability in art had improved. At least, that's what Ignatz told himself on the walk of shame he took to clear his unfinished lunch and get dinner.


	2. Guilty Head

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ignatz overthinks enough to make it a profession.

The next day classes resumed, but Ignatz couldnt stop tapping his dry quill against his note paper. There was a tension in the classroom. A lot less whispering and glancing up at the professor's rapid sign language. Ignatz almost felt suffocated by the atmosphere. He couldnt help it. He was worried. 

The silence in the classroom let Ignatzs mind dance from the weaknesses of pincer attacks back to the battle. If Raphael had just been a step closer… if the beast ran just the slightest bit faster… if _anything_ had been off… would Raphael have died the same way his parents did? Ignatz bit his lip as. If that had happened, it really would be his fault this time. All his fault. Completely his fault-

Deep breaths. Now was not the time to think about that. He looked back up to the front of the class to distract himself. The professor seemed to be talking about block formations and their advantages if the crude markings on the small chalkboard were to be trusted. He copied down every detail he could and then some, any more thoughts on the subject being silenced by the scratch of cross hhatching. It worked so well, Ignatz didnt even realize class was over until he felt a hand on his shoulder. 

"Mr. Victor?" Ignatz scrambled to cover his doodles with his hands and turned his head.

"Professor Manuela?" Ignatz had no idea what business she had with him. She sat at the empty bench beside him and looked Ignatz in the eyes with the most intense stare he had experienced.

"Dont waste what you have," was all she said, leaving Ignatz confused and vaguely threatened.

"Ma'am?"

"That boy talked about you all day. You dont get men like that when you're old," The end of her sentence was clipped with some bitterness, leaving Ignatz stunned from confusion as she promptly stood up to go talk with the professor. 

Was she talking about Raphael? Who talked about him? Ignatz knew he and Raphael were close, but Ignatz had never been able to imagine himself as all that important, certainly not important enough to be at the forefront of someone's mind. So the thought of being talked about by a person very important to him made Ignatz feel… warm. Warm and wanted.

Ignatz found himself smiling warmly as he packed his things to go for a visit.

\-----

Upon entering the infirmary, Ignatz was met with a cheery, "Ignatz!"

So, Raphael was awake today. He looked at Ignatz with a smile. His leg bouncing up and down under the covers reminded Ignatz of how a dog wags its tail. It was cute. No, that still wasnt quite the right word for Raphael.

"Hey! Are you feeling any better today?" Ignatz went to retrieve the same chair he used the other day and once again sat it next to his friends bed.

"Huh? I mean, everything still hurts, but I'm gettin used to it!" Raphael replied. Ignatz felt a bit guilty again, this time with no crosshatching to carry it away. It was only made worse at the mention of pain. Had Manuela not given him anymore painkillers? Where did she put them? 

"O-oh," was all he could manage through his worries. Ignatz wished he had asked the professor to tutor him in some healing magic, even if Raphael was getting plenty to heal as fast as he could, just to take at least a little more of the hurting away. He remembered seeing the gashes, bloody, fresh- "it must really hurt, it looked pretty deep…"

"I said I was gettin used to it though, so it wont hurt for longer!" Raphaels optimism was incredibly contrasted by Ignatzs lowering mood. Ignatz couldnt look at Raphaels smiling face, instead staring at the bandages covering his friends torso like a shitty tunic. Blood and pus stains still leaked to the outside of the bandages, and it was Ignatzs fault for not hearing-

"Hey." Cut off Ignatzs spiraling thoughts. He looked up to be met with Raphaels stern face. Raphael himself was never good at seeming stern in his general demeanor, but his face was enough to convince anyone that he was the most unmovable man alive. Ignatz thought it was Raphaels strong brow. Or maybe it was the energy in his eyes that made every expression look intense. Whatever it was, Ignatz knew Raphael was serious now. "I know that look. You're thinkin a lot about something really little." 

"What- no!" Ignatz said defensively. It was true that he may have gotten lost in his head but- it wasnt something little at all! At least, not to him. Ignatz couldnt see how it would be something little to anyone, actually! "It- it makes it feel inconsequential when you say it like that…"

"Well, no matter if it is or isnt, you should stop lettin it swim circles in your head." Raphaels brow was now scrunched in concern rather than seriousness. That soft worry dripped from his brows, to his eyes, and down his face to the corners of his lips. Ignatz knew there was truth to Raphaels words. He knew he had a bad habit of getting caught in thoughts like a whirlpool, but he had a hard time with opening up and let the worries drain from his head like water. It wasnt easy, and it wasnt fair. Ignatz especially didnt want to make Raphael drown with him in his worries. He had already caused enough of Raphaels troubles. Even still, Ignatz soon felt a warm, rough weight on his hand. "Talk to me buddy?"

Ignatz sighed. Part of him wanted to keep quiet, still believing that he shouldnt trouble Raphael more. Another part of him argued to just look at Raphaels face, he was troubling him by not saying anything! A big part of him wanted Raphael to help him just like when he knocked sense into Ignatz about his parents' deaths. Ignatzs hand balled into a fist under Raphaels scratchy blanket of a hand.

"Its just… well… you could have died." Ignatz somberly admitted. There were seconds of silence between them as the weight of that statement spread through the space between them. Each second felt like days.

Ignatz shifted his gaze back down to Raphael, searching for any negative reaction. If Raphael thought him a bother, Ignatz would go. Raphael sighed and Ignatz got ready.

"And you _woulda_ died, Ig…"

Silence.

Silence as Ignatz thought about how grave his situation might have been. Silence as Raphael put the pieces together.

"Ignatz… are you seriously blaming yourself for this too?" Raphaels tone was soft and worried. It almost made Ignatz feel bad just for bringing it up. Raphaels hand folded over Ignatzs clenched fist, lifting it off of Ignatzs knee and wrapping all the way around it. "I think… what matters right now is that neither of us are dead. 'Sides, Professor Manuela said shed let me go after a couple more days! So everything's gonna go back to normal soon anyways!"

Raphaels sunny smile made Ignatz believe it. He didn't realize how much he had missed it for the past couple of days until it calmed Ignatzs whirlpool into choppy waters. 

"I guess it wouldnt be normal again if I just acted like I did at the beginning of the year," Ignatz admitted, looking at Raphaels pillow rather than his face lest he be blinded.

"Exactly! So you dont have to worry about it!” Ignatz could now feel Raphael looking at his face. It had the power to dust warmth over Ignatzs face. He couldnt help but smile back.

"I'll… try." It wasnt the answer Raphael would have wanted, but it was the most honest one Ignatz could give. It was going to be hard, but the smile Raphael gifted him made it feel possible to promise.

Raphaels smile widened and Ignatzs hand was squeezed. Ignatz was finally able to look up and return a softer smile, and after a few minutes they were able to move on to a different subject. Ignatz would wonder of course if Raphael truly didn't blame him, but for now they talked on and on like nothing had ever happened.


End file.
